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Magazine /

May 24, 2017

Volume 134, Issue #11
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Features

Muslim men praying
First Person

My life as an ambivalent American Muslim

How can I help reform Islam? I can’t even make it to prayers.

by Haroon Moghul

anti-racism sign
First Person

I believe racism is wrong. So what?

Being against something doesn’t cost much—or accomplish much.

by Teri McDowell Ott

Books

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What have the Romans ever done for us?

The aqueduct. The roads. An enforced peace to allow a young faith to spread.

by Tony Jones
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Justification by faith for fragile and broken souls

Ted Peters translates theological concepts into a folksy manual for pastoral care.

by Matthew Lynn Riegel
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Kierkegaard and his gifts for the church

Stephen Backhouse’s accessible biography reveals a man who worked hard to conceal himself.

by Elizabeth Palmer
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Imagining our way out of systems of disgrace

Simone Drake’s book helps readers grow in understanding of a deeply marginalized group: black men.

by Cara Meredith
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A novel at the edge of faith

It’s rare to encounter a female protagonist in theological fiction.

by Amy Frykholm
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Who is the Benedict Option for?

Rod Dreher calls on Christians to form deeper, more distinct communities. This should sound familiar to liberals.

by Steve Thorngate

Departments

Children asking questions
First Words

Another “Ask the Pastor” session with the confirmation class

Why are there only 12 disciples? Will we be with our families in heaven? Does God think pineapple should go on pizza?

by Peter W. Marty

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On Art

Trinity with Saint Jerome, by Andrea del Castagno

In Renaissance painting, Jerome is usually shown in his study translating the Bible into Latin. Here Andrea del Castagno (1410–1457) depicts Jerome’s vision of the Trinity, a much rarer subject....
 
Art selection and commentary by Heidi J. Hornik and Mikeal C. Parsons
Easter Vigil fire
Faith Matters

A chat with the refiner’s fire

“You’ve talked about a lot of things,” says your refiner’s fire. “Which is the one that really matters?”

by Samuel Wells

Big Little Lies
Screen Time

Red-state noir, blue-state noir

In both S-Town and Big Little Lies, there’s human depravity everywhere.

by Kathryn Reklis

Cop helps person
From the Editors

Sanctuary cities are good for all the people who live there

Turning local police into ICE agents makes everyone less safe.

News

Oliveto Brewster hearing

United Methodist court rules against consecrating gay and lesbian bishops

At the end of the day, Karen Oliveto remains a bishop even after the United Methodist Church’s top court ruled that consecrating a gay bishop violates church law....

by Kathy L. Gilbert, Linda Bloom, and Sam Hodges

People

Baylor University appoints first woman president

Linda A. Livingstone has been named president of Baylor University, beginning June 1. She will be the first woman to to head the Christian institution in Waco, Texas, founded by Baptists....
by Christian Century staff

Supreme Court may lean toward Lutheran school in public funds dispute

In a case with implications for more than 30 states that prohibit using public funds for religious purposes, a majority of Supreme Court justices appeared aligned against Missouri’s refusal to include a Lutheran church in a grant program that prov...

by Richard Wolf

U.S. commission: Russia among worst violators of religious freedom

The State Department should add Russia to its list of the worst violators of religious freedom, a U.S. commission declared in its annual report....

by Lauren Markoe

People

Christian Reformed philosopher wins Templeton Prize

Alvin Plantinga, 84, a pioneering advocate for theism as a serious philosophical position within academic circles, has been named the winner of the 2017 Templeton Prize....

by Chris Herlinger

People

Homiletics 'master' dies at age 89

David G. Buttrick, best known as “a master of homiletic design,” died April 22, at age 89. His obituary did not give a cause of death....
by Christian Century staff
People

Episcopal bishop known for scholarship, advocacy dies at age 81

Frederick Houk Borsch, a bishop, academic, and advocate for social justice, died April 11 at age 81....
by Christian Century staff

More education doesn’t mean less religious commitment among Christians, Pew says

It’s a popular belief: the more educated a person is, the less religious he or she likely will be. And it’s mostly right, but with exceptions, according to a recently released analysis of Pew Research Center surveys....

by Emily McFarlan Miller

People

To Arkansas judge who ruled on execution drugs, death penalty protest is a religious act

Wendell Griffen, an Arkansas circuit judge who also serves as a Baptist pastor, defended his participation in a death penalty protest after issuing a court order barring the state from using an execution drug....

by Bob Allen

Russia’s top court bans Jehovah’s Witnesses

Russia’s Supreme Court formally banned Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist organization and ordered the state to seize its property in Russia, according to Russian news media....

by Doug Stanglin

Georgetown University apologizes for its role in historical slave trade

The leader of the Catholic religious order that helped found Georgetown University sought forgiveness from descendants of slaves whose sale bolstered the school financially....

by Adelle M. Banks

Lectionary

June 18, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Exodus 19:2–8a; Psalm 100; Romans 5:1–8; Matthew 9:35–10:8

by D. Brent Laytham

June 11, Trinity Sunday

2 Corinthians 13:11–13; Genesis 1:1–2:4a; Matthew 28:16–20

by D. Brent Laytham

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